For 50 minutes, it still seemed that history could repeat itself in Olhão. But Benfica scored the first and shortly after the second and sealed the result of a game that they completely dominated, achieving a victory in Olhão that had eluded them for three seasons, in league games.
Olhanense lost against the championship leader at home 2-0 and dropped to 14th position, just above the waterline, with the same points as Académica (13th) and Moreirense (15th).
Olhanense entered the field with a very defensive posture, giving up a striker, betting on putting fast forwards on the wings and on filling the midfield and defense a lot. A bus, some would say, pragmatism said Manuel Cajuda at the end of the game, claiming that if he placed "five against five" in the midfield, he would lose the fight.
Even with more elements, the fight was close, but lost anyway. Benfica's goals were both scored from outside the area, in the central zone, one of them by defensive midfielder Matic. But it is true that Olhanense managed to hold Benfica for 52 minutes, the minute in which Salvio scored the first goal.
«The strategy of the first part resulted in perfection», even considered Manuel Cajuda. The idea, he assumed, was to defend, since he faced a «huge Benfica» and «you can't play 90 minutes in attack» against such a team. "I don't want to be the smartest man in the cemetery," he illustrated.
"What we have to ask is when can we do something", countered the coach from Olhon. Today, at José Arcanjo, that possibility did not arise for the home team. From what was seen on the field, the strategy set up would give, at most, to maintain the null, since the chances of goal for Olhanense were practically non-existent.
Suffice it to say that the Algarve team's first shot was in the 57th minute and without danger for Artur's goal. Benfica's goalkeeper turned out to be another spectator.
At the end of the game, Jorge Jesus considered that he was expecting a complicated game, mainly "due to the bad condition of the pitch". But he added that the fact that Benfica only scored in the second half meant nothing. “We can't always reach halftime winning by two or three. It would be good, but football is not like that», he illustrated.
This time, Olhanense did not manage to surprise Benfica, with an almost full house (although Benfica fans were in a clear majority), but continues "depending only on themselves" to remain in the Zon Sagres League, recalled Cajuda.
The next big race will be in two rounds, when the team from Olhão will visit Gil Vicente, who is just one point ahead of them in the league table. But that will only happen after the Algarvians receive Vitória de Guimarães.
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